Ingredients:
- 2-3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium celery stalk, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3-5 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1 sprig fresh sage (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
- Sprinkle the beef generously with salt and pepper. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat, then add the meat in batches and sear on all sides. It’s important that you don’t crowd the pan. The meat needs air around it to achieve a crisp brown crust. With tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the browned pieces to a bowl to catch their juice. Repeat with the remaining cubes.
- In the same pot, sauté the chopped carrot, onion, celery, and garlic for about 2 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste and stir for about 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan. Which is just a cook’s way to say: Add the broth and vinegar, then stir with passion, scraping up all the wonderful brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring until the mixture starts to thicken.
- Put the meat and its drippings back into the pot. Add 3 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, a healthy dose of pepper, the bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, sage, and cinnamon sticks.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer with the pot only partially covered for about 90 minutes. This is not a soupy stew, but if the stew starts to dry out, add more water, about a 1/2 cup at a time. Simmer until the meat is fall-apart tender and the liquid in the pan has been reduced to gravy-like status.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks and herb stems from the stew pot. Ladle the stew into deep bowls — bonus points if you also add a light drizzle of olive oil.
